Apoptosis of Human HepG_2 Cells Induced by Quercetin

Objective To study the mechanism of quercetin-induced apoptosis of human HepG2 cells.Methods The cellular morphology of each research group were observed by transmission electron microscope;the cells were staining by Annexin V and the flow cytometry(FCM)were applied to detect apoptosis of the HepG2 cells;and the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)were applied to detect the genes related with apoptosis,such as fas.Results Quercetin had a evident effect on the growth of the human liver cancer HepG2 cells as well as apoptosis inducing.The morphous of HepG2 cells showed nuclear chromatine condensation and nuclear fragmentation.The apoptosis rate of HepG2 cell was 13.2% by FCM technolony and the cell cycle stopped at the G1 and G2 phase.The transcription level of the fas gene was enhanced.Conclusion Quercetin could induce apoptosis of the human HepG2 cells as a inhibitor of liver cancer.The mechanism of induction apoptosis may be related to the fas gene activation.